Gathlain (12 RP)

According to some fey ballads, gathlains were one of the first peoples awakened in the the primal realm of the fey. Gathlains grow from the seeds of an enormous magical tree—seeds that often drift for hundreds of miles before developing into adolescent gathlains, with the tree’s mistletoe grown into their flesh to form their strange wings. Despite being born with a basic understanding of their world, gathlains are inquisitive to a fault. They are known to be invaluable guides and knowledgeable explorers, if one can put up with their numerous questions and strange japes.

Physical Description: Wings of wood and vines grow out of the bodies of these lithesome fey. Gathlains prefer to wear a mix of clothing, with a base of natural materials like grass skirts or simply woven tunics combined with bits of finery gathered from a variety of sources.

Society: Gathlain society is built around art, discovery, experimentation, and storytelling. These fey constantly seek new ways to look at the world. Gathlain leaders are often popular explorers followed primarily as idols worth emulating and as sources of intriguing gossip. Although gathlains tend to engage in raucous romances born of melodramatic or fanciful encounters, they do not procreate conventionally from such pairings, even when the two happen to be of different physical sexes. Gathlains show little interest in gender, finding it quaint when other races use it as a basis for assigning roles or choosing partners.

Relations: Gathlains associate with a variety of other fey as freely as among their own kind. These mixed communities of fey are called courts and feature elaborate titles for those members deemed most interesting or most worthy of admiration. When a gathlain chooses to join a different community, it is generally a temporary membership, whether it lasts only a season or persists for decades. Adventuring gathlains frequently seek out and attempt to mingle with like-minded gnomes; however, gnomes often find gathlains too flighty, foolish, and undisciplined for their tastes.

Alignment and Religion: Mischievous and capricious, gathlains have discordant temperaments. Most are chaotic, and they tend to be morally neutral. The typical gathlain finds mortal religions strange; like many fey, they trade respect and token offerings to godlike fey in exchange for protection, but they see little difference between that and offerings to lesser kings and queens.

Adventurers: Gathlains strive to entertain themselves and sate their immense curiosity about the world around them, and those who decide to become adventurers often migrate to the Material Plane to explore. They favor spellcasting classes and skilled classes such as bard or rogue.

Alternate Racial Traits

Body Thorns: Gathlains that mature in particularly hostile environments develop thorns on their vines to protect them from overeager herbivores. You are considered to be wearing masterwork armor spikes when not wearing armor or bulky clothing, and are proficient with armor spikes. These thorns can be sundered or destroyed as if they were a worn object (hardness 1, 5 hp), but grow back 1 week later. This racial trait replaces the spell-like abilities racial trait.

Flighty: Some gathlains are too easily distracted to miss anything going on around them. They gain Perception as a class skill and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against patterns and effects that cause the fascinated condition. This replaces natural armor. SourcePZO1140

Intense Curiosity: Some gathlains habitually fixate on someone or something nearby and examine its every detail. When taking 20 on the check, they gain a +4 racial bonus on Perception and Survival checks to find and follow tracks and to predict the weather. This replaces spell-like abilities. SourcePZO1140

Nimbus of Vitality: Gathlains sometimes are able to channel life-giving energy. As a standard action once per day, they can surround themselves in an aura that affects them as faerie fire and grants fast healing 2. The nimbus lasts for 3 rounds plus 1 additional round per 2 character levels the gathlain possesses. This racial trait replaces the spell-like ability racial trait. SourcePZO9280

Otherworldly Gossip: Many gathlains excitedly share every last bit of gossip they can find. These gathlains gain a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks to gather information and on checks with one Knowledge skill of the gathlain’s choice. Once the choice of Knowledge skill is made, it can’t be changed. This replaces spell-like abilities. SourcePZO1140

Photosynthetic Vision: Occasionally the tendrils of a gathlain’s symbiotic vines wrap around the gathlain’s face like a leafy mask. You gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks. Photosynthetic vision replaces low-light vision.

Sticky Tendrils: When a gathlain seed finds itself taking root in an environment that warps and changes erratically, the resulting gathlain learns to cling tenaciously with its vines. You can cling to walls and even ceilings as long as the surface has handholds, and it is treated as being constantly under the effects of a non-magical spider climb spell (except that you may not cling to smooth surfaces). Your vines provide only the ability to glide rather than true flight; you take no damage from falling, as if subject to a constant non-magical feather fall spell. While in midair, you can move up to 5 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you fall, at a speed of 60 feet per round. You cannot gain height with your wings, but instead coast in other directions as you fall. If subjected to strong winds or any other effect that causes you to rise, you can take advantage of this updraft to increase the distance you can glide. This racial trait replaces your fly speed.

Symbiotic Imbalance: Occasionally the conditions for a gathlain seed’s growth heavily favor the plant portion of its body, causing more nutrients to go to the building of its vine wings and fewer to developing the gathlain’s legs. These gathlains have larger wings than normal. They have a base speed of 20 feet and a fly speed of 40 feet (average). This racial trait alters the gathlain’s speeds.

Tree-Born: Some gathlains take after their tree ancestors, standing more firmly but moving more slowly. They have no Constitution penalty but have a base speed of 20 feet and a fly speed of 30 feet (clumsy maneuverability). This replaces the penalty to Constitution and alters speed. SourcePZO1140

Oracle Add one spell known that is an enchantment spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the oracle can cast. That spell is treated as one level higher unless it is also on the oracle spell list.

Sorcerer Choose a bloodline power from the fey or verdant bloodlines that the sorcerer can use. The sorcerer treats her class level as though it were 1/2 higher (to a maximum of +4) when determining the effects of that power.